Future MBA Program Implications Meet the Millennials

1. Future MBA Program ImplicationsMeet the Millennials Andrea Hershatter Associate Dean, BBA Program Director Goizueta Business School, Emory University

2. Agenda • Generational shifts • Overview of Millennials • Defining characteristics that impact business education • What is happening in undergraduate business programs • What MBA Programs may experience in the near future • Open Discussion

3. Andrea’s Background • BSM, Tulane University • MBA, Fuqua School, Duke University • Ph.D. candidate, cultural anthropology, Emory University • Duke and Emory MBA Admissions and Student Services • Associate Dean for multiple academic programs • Taught last GenX and first wave Millennials for past 10 years • Dean, counselor and mentor to HS Class of 2000+ • Mom to two biological and countless adopted Millennials

4. Source of the best theory and data • Neil Howe & • William Strauss

5. Generational Context GI Silent Boomer Gen X Millennials • War heroes • Endured Depression • Presidents and generals • Led Civil Rights • Created much national wealth • Prophets and professionals • Fought in and protested Vietnam War • Redefined culture • Revolutionaries and gurus • Latchkey kids who defined nation at risk • Savvy and entrepreneurial • Slackers. thought leaders and free agents • Wanted and protected • Only beginning to define their destiny • John Kennedy • Walt Disney • Walter Cronkite • Martin Luther King, Jr. • Sandra Day O’Conner • Gloria Steinem • Bill Clinton • Steven Spielberg • Oprah Winfrey • Jeff Bezos • P Diddy • Tiger Woods • Cast of Friends • MaryKate and Ashley Olsen • LeBron James 1901-1924 1943-1960 1961-1981 1982-2002 1925-1942

6. Recap of Strauss and Howe’sMillennial Birthmarks • They have always been told they are destined for something special • They have been sheltered by family, community and institutions • They have a lot of confidence in their future and their ability to make a difference • They have strong group bonds and are naturally team oriented • Their attitudes are more conventional than those of their parents (and faculty) and they tend to respect institutions and rules • They focus on achieving whatever goals are set before them • They are time pressured, results pressured, and peer pressured

7. What do they look like in 2005? Cheerleaders MIT Gen Yes H.S. Project, Hondo, Texas Cal State University, Sacramento

8. Who are your future MBAs?Seven traits that will matter • Brook’s “meritocratic elite” • The ones who put “Multi” in cultural • Risk/Reward Experts • Proponents of action-oriented social consciousnesses • Collectors of real and virtual friends • “Mentor magnets” and trophy kids • Embracers of the American Dream

9. Meet the Meritocratic Elite:more recommended reading • THE ORGANIZATION KID (cover story) • Brooks, David. Atlantic Monthly, April 2001, Vol. 287 Issue 4 Illustration by Tim O’Brien

10. What are we seeing? • Destination orientation • Willingness to work very hard • Focus on a level playing field • Peer enforced Zero Tolerance • Self-scheduled pressures • REALLY high expectations for all infrastructure and student services

11. What will they expect from you? • Necessary tools for future success • Rigor in classroom, balance outside • Clear and enforced codes and standards • Lots of non-professional clubs and activities • “Above and beyond” services and professionals Leaders, UGA, Terry School

12. Multi-multi-multicultural • Products of Title IX Girl Power • Parents and relatives from all over the world • Eroding racial distinctions • Increasing economic divide • Much better handle on multi-cultural issues than the Boomers Eli Broad students, Michigan State

13. What are we seeing? • Enrollment gender parity • Females in leadership roles • Continuing gender gravitation towards finance (male) and marketing (female) • Color-blind teams and relationships • STRONG interest in study abroad • Clear self-distinction among those who come from “less privilege”

14. What will they expect from you? • Cases, speakers and faculty members reflecting global business and multicultural management as reality • (No tokens!) • Lots of opportunities to explore the world • Transparent admissions and scholarship processes • Need-based aid • A new way of thinking and talking • about diversity and gender

15. Risk Reward Experts • Most protected generation in history • No child left behind • Team always has their back • Highly accustomed to structure • Often rewarded for participation alone • Limited benefit to being creative; used to content-based learning

16. What are we seeing? • Hovering parents and erosion of FERPA • Expectation of special accommodations and personal attention • Lurking external crisis management team • Need for lots of positive feedback • Strong dislike of ambiguity • Ability to scale any bar but a preference that others plot the course

17. What will they expect from you? • Inclusion of significant others • Special accommodations and personal attention • Safety nets • Acknowledgement of accomplishments • Clear, enforced policies and standards • They will have to be taught and encouraged to take risks!

18. Social Consciousness • Sense of generational destiny • Want to be a part of something meaningful and bigger than themselves • More about “doing” than talking • Have experienced the power of collective action Wharton Leadership Venture

19. What are we seeing? • Everyone volunteers • Increased likeliness to join Peace Corps, Teach-for-America or a non-profit • Rising interest in social entrepreneurship • Genuine interest in leaving a legacy • More focus on money as a vehicle, rather than an end unto itself

20. What will they expect from you? • Connection to a higher-order mission • Opportunities for collective action • Access to decision-makers • Classes and clubs oriented around public policy and social responsibility • Sense of tradition and history • Support for non-traditional career paths, especially service-based options

21. Friends Net-work • Peer bonds closely maintained • Tendency towards inclusion • Connected at all times • Influenced by the group • Strong opinions, transmitted instantly • “Plugged in citizens of a world-wide community” • The Echo Boomers, 60 Minutes, December 2004

23. What are we seeing? • Information (false and true) travels instantly • They look to each other for guidance • Leaders can ‘tip” opinion quickly • Team work is expected and appreciated • They still care about individual recognition • They excel at building, maintaining and mobilizing networks Business Ambassadors, Illinois

24. What will they expect from you? • Access to a vast and lively virtual network • New technology, as it emerges • Creative ways to work together • Appreciation for the importance of peer relationships • Connections to students in other programs • “One or two degrees” hook-ups

25. Mentor Magnets and Trophy Kids • Primed since birth to achieve • Hold traditional values • Respect rules and authority • Thrive on making others proud of them • Non-confrontational • Respect for the wisdom that comes with age Jerry Greenfield at UNC

26. What are we seeing? • Absolute grade neurosis • Incredibly close bond to parents who are extremely involved in their decision making • Limited resistance to policies that limit their freedoms but augment the institution • Strong desire to be mentored • Willingness to share personal information and seek professional help if needed OSU Fisher undergraduate case competition winners

27. Achievers accustomed to pressure

28. What will they expect from you? • Real grading system, class ranking, and honors • Lots of opportunity to interact with experienced professionals • Legitimate role for their mentors and parents • Strong and growing MBA brand • Open door relationships with faculty • Formal alumni and/or peer mentoring system • More advising and counseling than has previously been necessary

29. Fulfilling an American Dream • Believe that with hard work, anything is possible • Focused on reaching a destination • As they progress, they will remain in the national media spotlight • Have been prepared to shoulder the responsibility for improving the world’s future • Assume achievements in the social order (race relations, technology, the economy) will be the focus of their accomplishments

30. What are we seeing? • Longer-term view, strong focus on planning now for the future • Preference for a “work hard/play hard” structure rather than a blended one • Deep interest in amassing credentials • Propensity to stay in touch • Some burnout • Willingness to reach goals in multiple steps Quest Program, Smith School, University of Maryland

31. What will they expect from you? • Tools that will enable them to succeed in all aspects of their life in the short AND long run • Clear guidance about the principles and values of the program • Admission decision (years?) earlier to remove uncertainty • Two-way lifelong link with institution • In short: Your help in fulfilling their destiny!

32. Millennials in thirty words or less • Each of them believes they’ll either be on the platform, on time and with their ticket punched, or they’ll miss the train and never be on the platform again • ~ Neil Howe & William Strauss UT Austin